Theodore Kosloff

Dark and dramatic-looking, Theodore Kosloff parlayed his ballet training into a surprisingly potent screen career in the late 1910s, appearing mostly for Cecil B. DeMille, whose sister, Agnes DeMille, was highly influenced by him. A graduate of Moscow's Imperial Theater school in 1901, Kosloff came to the United States with the Diaghilev Ballet Company, which he had joined in 1909. (Another member of the troupe was Natacha Rambova, the future Mrs. Rudolph Valentino, with whom Kosloff had a stormy affair). Introduced to DeMille by actress-writer Jeanie Macpherson, the handsome dancer made his screen debut opposite opera diva Geraldine Farrar in what came to be viewed as the legendary director's first true spectacular, The Woman God Forgot (1917). Kosloff went on to star opposite some of the era's great leading ladies, including Gloria Swanson and Betty Compson, and operated a highly acclaimed ballet school. Several generations of dancers were influenced by Kosloff, who ended his performing career at the advent of sound but continued to work in Hollywood as a choreographer.